Worst Birthday Ever?
by eternalasucaga
Summary: May 18 was Cagalli's mandatory day-off. This was the day of the year that Athrun had always been looking forward to. But some jerk decided to abduct her and keep her to himself. Athrun, with the help of Kira, now try to rescue the birthday celebrant before the day ends. (A Kira/Cagalli birthday fic!)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: A birthday fic I wrote in the name of AsuCaga. I apologize if I'm posting this after their birthday. It's just that, our internet was cut for some stupid reason. So I only got to access the net just now.

This was supposed to be a one-shot but I realized that it got too long, so I decided to separate it into four parts! :) Plus, I'm actually not yet done with the fourth part so… Haha.

Notes before reading this fic:

- This is set 2 years after the second bloody valentine war (CE 75)

- The Seiran family did not hide Djibril, therefore they weren't put into custody.

- Yuuna did not die (unfortunately).

- Athrun Zala is in Orb, and an admiral at that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny.

-o0o-

May 18. How he looked forward for this day to finally come!

Each year, during the 18th day of May, Cagalli had a mandatory day-off. Although she didn't really want to leave her duties as the representative of Orb even just for a day, it was the parliament's request. They at least want her to relax and take a break during her birthday, since she worked almost everyday, even during the holidays.

He planned a birthday surprise for her this year. Last year, they had dinner with Kira and Lacus. But this year, he wanted Cagalli to spend it with all the people that became part of her life, but rarely get to see because of her tight schedule. Kira would be there of course because it was his birthday. Lacus, Reverend Malchio and the kids, Archangel crew, Athha household, some of the Morgenroete team, Dessert Dawn, her friends from school were all invited. Even the people from PLANT, Yzak, Dearka, Shinn, Lunamaria and Meyrin were invited to celebrate Cagalli's birthday.

It was a good thing that he planned the surprise to happen during dinnertime. He had the chance to spend the day with Cagalli like a normal couple. Cagalli told him that there was a new amusement park in Onogoro Island that she wanted to go to, but never had the time. It was "Haro Land", made in tribute of the cute robots that always trailed behind Lacus Clyne, a very influential figure. Athrun too find it interesting so he bought the tickets ahead of time and was really excited to go and have their date. He also had his duties as the admiral of Orb so it was such a luxury to be able to be with her for the whole day.

Kira and Lacus, busy themselves with their obligations back in PLANT, were too kind to help him out with the preparations for the surprise party. The decorations and checking if everything on his checklist was complete. They told him that they weren't really going to do much since Athrun pretty much took care of everything and that Athrun should go and enjoy his date with Cagalli. They enlisted the help of their other friends so that things would go smoothly.

Athrun told them to come to the Athha mansion once he fetched Cagalli. After they leave, they were supposed to bring in everything that they needed for the party to be perfect.

Looking at the mirror for the last time, he was confident that they wouldn't be noticed this time. He had on a dark tint of shades so that people won't be able to see their eyes and brought a cap to disguise himself further. It wouldn't be weird for them to be wearing those at an amusement park anyway.

He remembered her birthday last year when they visited Ocean Park. They looked really suspicious with their shades and caps. Since the tint of the sunglasses was too dark, Cagalli removed hers complaining that she couldn't appreciate the fish that much. As a consequence, people immediately noticed that it was their Princess and wanted to get her autograph and have their picture taken with her. Before they knew it, they were dashing and hiding everywhere and ended up having a simple dinner with Kira and Lacus at the orphanage.

Chuckling at that funny adventure last year, he finally went out of his flat and went to his car. He checked his pockets when he entered the car.

Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Handkerchief? Check. Keys? Check. Tickets? They were with Cagalli. Check.

All right, he had everything that he needed. His clock read 9:45am. They agreed to meet at 10am and Cagalli's place was only a five-minute drive from where his flat was. He'll be there on time. He texted her to that he was headed to her house before starting up the car and driving for the Athha mansion.

In no time, he was already in the Athha mansion. He parked his car near Cagalli's other cars. As he walked his way to the door to ring the doorbell, he noticed something that was odd. There was an unfamiliar car parked in front of the door. Who would visit her on such a day?

As he got closer to the door, he kept examining the parked car. When he finally saw a seal that was on the plate number, his eyes were now wide open.

It was none other than the Seiran family seal.

"Damn that bastard Yuuna Roma Seiran!" He cursed under his breath. "Trying to ruin our plans for today."

He seriously wanted to barge into the mansion and give that purple-headed freak a piece of his mind. No wait, a piece of his fist on that bastard's face. Whenever he got the chance to spend time with Cagalli, that dingo would beat him to it and would hog Cagalli until she has to get back to work.

Although he was indubitably ecstatic that their wedding didn't push through two years ago, all thanks to his best friend for kidnapping _his_ princess, Seiran was still such a pest. Right after the second bloody valentine war, he broadcasted to the public that the incident of kidnapping Orb's princess did not mean that they were breaking off the engagement. Rather, they were only waiting for the right time to get married, as Cagalli was still young.

Athrun and Cagalli were really surprised that he had made that announcement when in truth, there was no longer a marriage that would happen between them, especially when the prick told the Orb soldiers that the pilot of Strike Rouge wasn't Cagalli and when he ordered them to shoot her down. The couple had the same sentiment at that moment, to shoot Yuuna Roma Seiran, down.

Since Seiran made the announcement to the citizens of Orb, the parliament advised Cagalli to just go with it for now, even if it appalled her. Cagalli comforted him, saying that she will soon announce to the public that they are breaking off the engagement. But still, Yuuna had the advantage of freely being with Cagalli whenever he wanted while he had to meet Cagalli in secret. It burned him to be in that kind of situation.

Yuuna also knew that the two of them were secretly together. That was why he was doing everything that he could to take Cagalli away from him. Since now he came out as Athrun Zala, not Alex Dino, he was also eligible to become Cagalli's fiancé. But he had the trump card of being her current fiancé. This was a war between the both of them.

But Athrun Zala wasn't going to let him win this time. Any other day was fine, just not today.

He was about to enter the door to confront Yuuna. Oh he was ready to bicker with that purple weirdo if he had to, but was stopped by Mana.

"Athrun-sama!" Mana tried to calm him down, preventing him from entering the door. "You musn't!"

"Why not Mana-san?" Athrun contained all his irritation with Seiran. "He's at it again. Cagalli specifically told him that she wasn't free today."

"Calm down, Athrun-sama. You see, hime-sama-" Mana tried to explain, but they heard voices that were from inside that was getting louder. Mana dragged Athrun to hide with her in one of the bushes near the door.

"I keep on telling you Yuuna. I have other plans today!" Cagalli was arguing with the Yuuna who also went out of the door. She was currently in the process of pushing him to his car.

"You have to celebrate your birthday with me! I already told my family and they're already expecting you to have lunch with us." He told her while grabbing a hold of her arm and motioning her to enter his car. Athrun was clenching his teeth. How dare that bastard make plans without even consulting her?!

"But really I can't go!" Cagalli wriggled out of his grasp and managed to break free. She dropped her bag though, causing the amusement park tickets to be visible to Yuuna's line of sight.

Cagalli had a shocked expression on her face; Yuuna smirked, which irked the two that were lurking in the bush even more.

"Cagalli my honey," Yuuna started to speak with the most annoying voice. "You didn't tell me that you wanted to go to the amusement park." He picked up the tickets that Cagalli tried to get from him but hid it from her reach. "You should have told me! That's why you're wearing those kind of clothes." He said while examining Cagalli's casual outfit. She was wearing a white peplum top and jeans.

"Yeah, so give it back!" She tried with all her might to get the tickets from him but he was just too tall.

"Nonsense honey!" Yuuna refused to return the tickets to her, even if he knew that the other ticket was supposed to be for Athrun. "We'll do as you wish, we'll spent the day at the amusement park!"

"Wha-" She wasn't able to finish was she was about to say because Yuuna forcefully shoved her inside the car, he also went inside and quickly shut the door.

Realizing that Cagalli was being kidnapped, Athrun stood up from where they were hiding even if Mana tried to stop him and tried to go and rescue Cagalli from the moron. But the car was already on its way out of the Athha mansion, driving at a speed that wasn't supposed to be allowed on that kind of location.

"Yuuna! You bastard!" Athrun was helplessly screaming as he tried to chase the car. "Come back here!" Even if he was a coordinator, he was still running after a car that was speeding away from the Athha mansion.

He kept on running after the car until it became smaller every second. There was no use; it was impossible for him to save Cagalli if he just ran like this.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath. He rested his hands on his knees and tried to recompose himself. He needed to chase them. Then he realized that he should have just used his car to catch up to them, and he would have done so in no time. So fine, coordinators make stupid decisions on impulse too.

Another car was headed to the Athha mansion while he stood there motionless and panted. It stopped to where he was and the windows were rolled down. Athrun was surprised to find that it was Kira and Lacus.

"Yo Athrun! I saw a car headed out, and I assumed that it was Cagalli, so we're here to prepare for the party." Kira, who was driving, greeted him cheerfully, unable to notice that something was clearly very wrong here. "You didn't tell me that Cagalli would go ahead without you. I thought that you told us that we would set up ourselves?"

"But if you're here…" Lacus seemed to process what happened based on seeing a car that was similar to what the Seirans used on their fail wedding day two years ago, Athrun breathing heavily, and the tacit rivalry between Athrun and Yuuna.

Kira was now laughing. "Yuuna did it again, didn't he?"

He pilot of the Infinite Justice could only nod in defeat.

It was very frustrating. Every single time, Yuuna has been getting in the way. They were successful enough to escape from his sight last year. It looks like he has really been wary this year. He had been too careless for thinking that the pesky Yuuna would let them do as they please.

Damn it.

Athrun then realized that it was time to counterattack. He had been enduring this situation for four years already, and he was on the edge. That egoistic purple brat was going down. He couldn't take this anymore, especially when he was messing with him on Cagalli's birthday. This might be the only day he gets to have a date with her this year and that good-for-nothing is trying to ruin it.

This means war.

"Get in." Kira cut his train of thoughts and tried to calm his best friend down. He knew that Athrun was really in a bad mood, but he couldn't blame him. Truth be told, he too was annoyed with Yuuna. Even if he was Cagalli's brother, Yuuna didn't like it that much when Cagalli always visited them in the orphanage. 'It's not good for you to be interacting much with coordinators, especially that you're a natural.' He says. They were siblings for crying out loud!

Athrun opened the door of Kira's car and sat on the back seat. "Lacus," he called out to his former fiancée.

"Yes Athrun?" Lacus turned to him, giving him an understanding and encouraging smile.

"Can you handle the preparations without Kira? Aunt Via and the others are there to help anyway." Athrun told her in a very serious voice.

"Yes I can handle that." She replied, sensing what he was planning to do something with Kira's help. "Don't you worry, I'll give my best."

Kira laughed again. "It'll be a surprise birthday party for me and Cagalli instead since I'm not going to be there too."

"Thank you Lacus." Athrun was grateful that she understood for the need to pull out Kira from the: 'Operation: Decorate Cagalli's house before they come back'.

"Athrun…" Kira knew what Athrun was planning to do. This was one of those moments wherein Athrun didn't really need to tell him what was oh his mind because he comprehended perfectly. In the past two wars when they fought together, they always had these moments.

"Kira…" Athrun responded. As if they were communicating their thoughts telepathically.

"Yeah let's bring back Cagalli." Kira gave his best friend a thumbs-up.

"By the way, happy birthday Kira." Athrun greeted him as well. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Of course I am! I got to celebrate my birthday three times this week. Plus, when we get back to PLANT, my team wants to celebrate with me as well. Meanwhile, Cagalli only has this one chance. That's why we have to get her back."

So what if Kira Yamato was now a part of ZAFT and Athrun Zala was a part of Orb's Military? Freedom and Justice will always have that imperishable bond as allies in times like these.

-o0o-

"Were you able to locate them?" Kira walked to Athrun and gave him a drink. He sat down the bench where Athrun was sitting. They followed Cagalli and Yuuna to the amusement park. But since the amusement park was so big, they had no idea where they could possibly be.

Athrun took a sip from the soda and shook his head. "Not yet." He was actually wearing binoculars to help him search his blonde girlfriend, but it was no use. He could not see her.

"Why don't you make a call?" Kira asked him. "It might help."

Athrun put the drink down and nodded. "Good idea." He got his phone from his pocket and started to dial Cagalli's number.

It was ringing. Thank goodness the freak didn't try to confiscate her phone or anything.

He wanted to jump for joy when Cagalli finally answered the phone. "Athrun!" It seemed like she was very relieved. Her voice was like from someone who was kidnapped and was trying her best to hide it from the person who abducted her. She also wanted to get away from Yuuna, for sure.

"Cagalli," Athrun tried to contain his excitement and ask her quickly. "Did you go to the amusement park?"

"We did, even though I refused to." She said. "He even used your ticket! Argh, I'm so pissed-"

"Where are you?" Athrun cut her off. He didn't want to do that, but he had to know where she was so that he could get her immediately.

"We're in aaah!" He heard Cagalli scream. "Give that back! Yuuna!"

Athrun gritted his teeth. He could only guess that the kidnapper finally noticed her taking a call and snatched her phone away from her before she could tell him where they were.

He could still hear them talking. "Now, now, my honey. It's your birthday isn't it? You shouldn't be taking calls."

"That's a very important call!" Cagalli retorted. "Now give that back!"

There was a few seconds of silence and finally his purple rival began to speak. "What is this important thing that this incompetent admiral could not wait to tell you until tomorrow? Geez."

Athrun was getting very provoked. How dare he call him incompetent? If there were someone that was incompetent, it would be none other than him! Bastard Seiran! He's so stupid that he isn't even supposed to be in the parliament!

"Oy Mister Admiral." He could hear Yuuna finally taking to him. "We're having a date today, so don't disturb my honey today. That's an order." With that, the line was cut. He didn't even have time to respond because Yuuna already hang up.

"Damn you Seiran!" Athrun tried to call Cagalli again but the line could not be reached. That twit must have turned off her phone and confiscated it from her. He was dialing again and again, but it was futile.

It was a good thing that Kira was there so at least there was someone that was thinking rationally. "Athrun…" He called out to him. "There's no use."

He was right. There was nothing that he can do. He was only draining his phone's battery his energy. Athrun took a very deep breath and put the phone back in his pocket. "You're right. Sorry about that." He took a sip from the soda again to calm him further.

"It's alright." Kira reassured him. "We can still find them."

"Yeah." He nodded, recomposing himself. "I don't know if I'm correct, but I heard the sound of a rollercoaster in the background."

Kira opened the map that he was holding. "It says here that the rollercoaster is right ahead. Most probably, we'll find them nearby."

"Let's go."

-o0o-

"They really are here!" Kira exclaimed while hiding at a post, dragging Athrun to hide along with him. They went to the area where the sound of the roller coaster could be heard, and there they saw Cagalli and Yuuna, by the game booths.

"Let me borrow that." Athrun was handed the binoculars and he put them close to his eyes. True enough, there was Cagalli and Yuuna, approximately thirty meters away from them. The look on Cagalli's face immediately told him that she wasn't very amused being with Yuuna, which lighten him up. He gave back the binoculars to his best friend and was about to approach the both of them.

His plan was simple really. It was so strike Yuuna in the face, making him unconscious, rescue Cagalli and finally get to spend the day with her.

He was about to execute his plan, but Kira pulled him back. "Wait Athrun!"

First it was Mana that stopped him, now it was Kira. "What is it?" Maybe Kira wanted to first devise a plan?

"You shouldn't do whatever it is that you're thinking right now." His best friend advised him.

"Why not?"

"Look closer." Kira put the binoculars in his hands.

He did what he was told, and realized that there was something that would make his plan unsuccessful.

Cagalli's left hand was cuffed to Yuuna's right hand.

Rage was starting to take over him yet again. Of course! That was a desperate attempt of the jerk to make sure that Cagalli wouldn't escape. He was really treating his princess like a prisoner, on the day that she was supposed to be free to do what she wanted to do!

"If you try and punch the daylights out of him, it would surely be noticed by a lot of people. Plus you might also hurt Cagalli in the process since they're chained to each other." He explained.

Athrun realized that Kira was right. It seemed like Yuuna wasn't a fool with regards to how he could separate him and Cagalli.

"Let's follow them!" Kira suggested. "We might think of a way to rescue Cagalli, and at the same time, get back at Yuuna!"

-o0o-

A/N: Done! Will upload the second part after two or three days! Nyaha. =)) Reviewww! :)

Btw, you guys can read my newest fic: Crossroads! See you there!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Part 2!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny

-o0o-

"Honey, it's your turn." Yuuna handed her the toy gun. They were at one of those game booths that required one to hit three blocks to win a prize. "Maybe you can hit the blocks. It's hard to hit them."

Cagalli rolled her eyes and got the gun from him. "Maybe if you released the handcuffs, it would be easier for you to hit at least one."

He laughed, so annoyingly that Athrun wanted to charge at him. "Don't be ridiculous! I always want to be this close to you."

The two coordinators that followed them wanted to vomit. Seriously, they couldn't stand that Yuuna was acting like she was Cagalli's boyfriend! Like hell that would happen! Over their dead bodies!

Athrun paid the game booth that was across theirs and got the toy gun from the guy that was manning the stall.

"Why are you going to play?" Kira asked him. If they were to enjoy themselves, they would lose sight of Cagalli.

"Who says we also can't have fun?" Athrun smirked. Instead of pointing the pellet gun to the wooden planks that he was supposed to hit, he aimed it at his new target, a purple-headed hair.

A perfect three hit combo!

"Who did that?!" Yuuna was scratching the part of his head that was hit and turned around to see who the offender was.

The two coordinators quickly acted like nothing happened. They continued to play on the game booth in front of them, pretending to be so absorbed with playing it that Yuuna wouldn't suspect that it was them.

"This is fun!" Kira laughed in the fakest tone. "Isn't that right Steve?"

Athrun also did the same. "You're right Jobs!" He just uttered a random name so that Yuuna would think that they were just best friends that didn't mind any other people's business.

It was fairly obvious that the 'names' were a joke. Lucky for them that Yuuna didn't notice.

"Let's go, my honey." Yuuna dragged Cagalli out of the game booths. Kira and Athrun trailed after them.

-o0o-

"Let's ride bump cars!" Yuuna suggested. Cagalli, even though she tried to resist, couldn't do much with the handcuffs. He was already heading to the bump cars, pulling her with him.

Kira turned to Athrun and he nodded. Both of them also dashed to the bump car ride and lined up.

"Athrun…" Kira started. "I think the only chance that we got to rescue Cagalli is if the cuffs are removed."

"You're right." Athrun thought about it. "But how will we get him to remove it?"

"For now, I guess we should wait." He told him. "There might come a time that we'll have an opportunity to make Yuuna remove it on his own."

"Wait that reminds me, before we ride." Athrun handed him a pink Haro mask. "Wear this."

"What's this mask for?" Kira asked him.

"Yuuna and Cagalli might recognize us when we ride the bump cars, so it's better to stay unnoticed."

"Wouldn't this catch more attention?"

"I don't think it will." He shrugged. "We're in Haro Land remember? So I don't think this is too suspicious. There are a lot of people also wearing these masks around you." He pointed to their surroundings and saw that there were a few kids wearing the mask. Athrun then wore his yellow mask.

"That's true. Fine then." He put on the mask and rode on a blue bump car, while Athrun rode a red one. They located where Yuuna and Cagalli were. They thought the prick would set Cagalli free but they were wrong. The two of them were riding a purple bump car.

"And I thought that he would let Cagalli drive her own car." Kira sure was disappointed. Yuuna wasn't making it easy for them.

"I thought so too. But I'm still going to bump their car." Athrun told him as the bump cars were starting to move.

"Athrun!" Kira tried to contain his voice so it was heard only between the two of them. "Be careful, you might hit Cagalli."

"Don't underestimate me Kira. You might be Freedom's pilot, but I'm Justice's pilot as well. Besides, it's not going to be called 'bump cars' if its prohibited to hit other cars. It would be called 'Do not bump cars' if it was." He drove to the purple car and started to bump it.

Kira sighed. Athrun can't be stopped when he's this jealous; he was literally a green-eyed monster now.

Yuuna did not even get the chance to start up theirs when they felt a car bump them from behind.

"Damn it! Why are they bumping us?" Yuuna was getting annoyed because he could not get the hang of the car. Heck, he did not even know how to drive a car, but for the sake of impressing Cagalli, he volunteered to drive it.

"Uhm… Because this ride is called 'bump cars'?" Cagalli said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone while they were being bumped all over again. Obviously they would expect others to start bumping into them, especially now that they weren't even moving from where they started.

"Isn't there a tutorial for these kinds of stuff?" Yuuna asked while he tried to step and press the buttons inside the bump cars.

"Uhm… No." She said again. She would have volunteered to exchange seats but the handcuffs placed her in the passenger seat position. Oh well. If only Athrun were here, she would really have fun even if he didn't let her drive. But wait, Athrun wasn't even like Yuuna. He would probably let her choose whether she wanted to ride a bump car alone or with him. Naturally she would choose that they both drive one, but then he would let her win.

Her thoughts floated to Athrun. She wasn't able to even see him because Yuuna sabotaged her. He called, but then she wasn't even able to properly say goodbye because this scumbag next to her confiscated her phone. Was he mad at her for suddenly ditching him like that? The ticket that was supposed to be for Athrun was now used by his archenemy.

It was extremely tormenting for her that she wasn't spending her birthday with the person that she wanted to be with the most. Rather, she was with someone that she'd like to evaporate.

As much as she'd liked to concentrate brooding about how this day has become such a torture, she couldn't because their bump car kept on shaking.

Cagalli noticed that a pair of cars repeatedly bumped them, the red and blue one. Sure, other cars bumped them as well, but something was different from these two. It's like they were really targeting them from the very start. One bump came after another. Were they actually picking on this purple bump car on purpose or did they randomly choose a car that they'll bully? She had to admit; it was like they planned this routine all along, because they were moving with such coordination and timing.

When she tried to look at who was driving those cars, she only saw yellow and pink Haro masks. The masks covered their faces, making it impossible for her to see who the drivers were.

Yellow and pink Haro masks?

"Cagalli, teach me how to do this." Yuuna pleaded her, veering away her attention from the two guys that kept bumping them. "What should I do to make it run?" He was like a child, really.

"First, you step on the gas." Cagalli exhaled in defeat, she couldn't wait to get this done with.

The purple-haired loser beside her beamed proudly as he was able to make the car move. "I see! Then what do I do?"

"Steer." She grumbled.

Soon, their turn was over and everyone was asked to leave so that the other people in line could have a go on the bump cars. Cagalli stood up to find out whom those two drivers were but she saw the bump cars empty and the two men with the Haro masks, out of sight.

"Do you think they noticed us?" Kira asked Athrun, as he removed the mask off his face and put back his shades. They were outside the bump car ride, waiting for their blonde birthday girl and the guy they both disliked.

"I don't think so? Cagalli didn't seem to have a feeling that it was us." Athrun took of his mask as well.

"But that was fun Athrun." Kira laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Bumping Yuuna and all."

"I told you so!" He chuckled as well.

-o0o-

Yuuna, tugging Cagalli with him, headed to the direction of the rollercoaster. They lined up to get into the ride. Kira and Athrun did the same, and but allowed four people to get in front of them so they won't get noticed. They would also ride the rollercoaster just to keep an eye on Cagalli.

When it was almost their turn, they crossed their fingers, wishing that they would get to sit behind Cagalli and Yuuna. Hopefully the four people ahead of them would go and sit elsewhere. Plus, knowing that Cagalli would get discovered when she removed her shades, she would ride the front seat. They would just take the seats behind them.

The cart came. As expected, Cagalli immediately took the front seats before anyone else did. Athrun and Kira managed to rush to the two seats behind them. Yuuna was in front of Athrun. Perfect. He thought.

The cart was moving slowly, and Athrun could notice Yuuna clinging to Cagalli even more. _"How dare he try to touch Cagalli even more!"_ He thought. He wanted to interfere and tear him away from Cagalli, but he couldn't since his seatbelt was keeping him put. What he could do at the moment was to listen to their conversation.

"Cagalli…" Athrun heard him speak. "It is not too late to get off this?" He could feel Yuuna's voice was mixed with fear.

"What are you talking about?" She was disgusted that his face was getting closer to hers. She pushed him slightly away. "Of course you can't! It's too late for that, the cart's already moving."

"B-but…" Seiran was stuttering. "I'm not used to these kinds of rides. It's makes me nauseous and all."

"Then why did you line up for this ride in the first place?" Cagalli snapped back.

"I thought I could handle it, but it turns out, I'm still not ready yet… This is my first time!" He shivered.

"_So he's frightened by extreme rides..."_ Athrun wanted to roar out in laughter but he had to contain himself. If he did that, they would surely be noticed. When he stretched out his arm, he realized that he could reach Yuuna's hair. Without any hesitation, and sensing that the cart would speed up soon, he quickly tugged on Yuuna's hair hard.

Yuuna was about to turn around, but as soon as he did, the cart went on full speed. He forgot all about trying to glare at the person that was behind him and screamed for his life. "Mommy! Help me! AAAAAH! Make it stop!" He really lost it. All the other shouts were "Yeah!" and "Woooh!" It was kind of embarrassing to be bawling like that. If the public knew that it was their Yuuna Roma Seiran that was currently yelping like he was five years old, his image would certainly drop to a level that people would look at him like a coward, which in reality, was what he is.

Athrun and Kira just looked at each other, bewildered at what they were witnessing in front of them. For these ace pilots, the rollercoaster was not even one-eighth of what they experience when inside the mobile suit.

When they heard Cagalli laughing at the purple-headed weakling, they burst out as well. There was no way Yuuna would be trying to fight them now that he was busy in hollering his wits out. Athrun was also glad to see Cagalli laughing even though she was held captive. Now the person he abducted was making fun of him. This was karma for Yuuna.

The ride ended quickly and they put back their disguises on. Yuuna, on the other hand, appeared to be so dizzy while trying to catch his breath. For him, it was the most excruciating ride.

-o0o-

Athrun and Kira watched close by as Yuuna and Cagalli seated at one of the benches near the rollercoaster. Yuuna was still trying to regain his cool and sat down for a while. Cagalli volunteered to get him water, but asked him to release her so she could do so. But he was being stubborn and told her that he was okay, and that he only needed to sit down.

The two best friends bought ice cream and sat at the bench that was near where Cagalli was. "Maybe this will tire out Yuuna, and then he might want to go home already." Kira told him while eating his ice cream.

"I guess." Athrun agreed and ate his chocolate ice cream.

They stopped talking when they heard Cagalli speak again. "Are you okay now?" She asked. Athrun was bitter that his girlfriend was actually worried about that stupid guy's well-being. Even after what he did to her? Well that was his Cagalli, his very warm-hearted princess.

"It took you a while." Cagalli complained. "Thirty-three minutes to be exact."

"_Thirty-three minutes…"_ Athrun thought. All those wasted moments that he should have been spending with her.

"Hey." Cagalli started to speak again. "Let's go to that horror house." She was pointing at a tent that had an evil Haro statue.

The chocolate ice cream that Athrun was holding fell to the floor. He gaped at what Cagalli just said. Did she seriously become friendly with Yuuna? Was it because he had been feeling bad after the rollercoaster ride and she was trying to make him feel better? Was she just trying to enjoy this day even if he wasn't the one she was spending it with?

"Oh… The ice cream fell." Kira was trying to tell Athrun, who couldn't care less.

Athrun continued on overthinking things he wasn't supposed to be harboring in the first place. Also, don't couples usually grab hold of one another in fear when inside the horror house? Damn… Was Cagalli actually fine with clinging onto Yuuna once they the mascots monsters tried to scare them?

"Horror house?!" They swore they heard Yuuna shriek in fear. "Why do you want to go there?"

"Because I want too." Cagalli said, using her authority as the chief representative.

"But my honey…" Yuuna appeared to be begging her to change her mind. "You see, I'm not really okay yet! I'm still dizzy from the rollercoaster ride."

"I don't care." She didn't want to yield to him at this point. She wanted to be set free so maybe this would push him to his limits. "I want to go there."

"Can't we go somewhere else?" Yuuna pleaded. "Anywhere but that…"

"Why not?" She raised her eyebrows. "Scared?"

Yuuna stuttered, finding an excuse that Cagalli would believe. "N-no! It's just that…"

"Scared of the dark? Monsters? Zombies?" Cagalli enumerated for him.

He shook his head, even though she was right. He was scared in those kinds of things.

"Well then, unlock the cuffs and let me go there myself." She finally offered. Athrun realized what she was planning to do and was washed with relief.

Kira was laughing. "As expected from my twin sister! Unknowingly scheming!"

"F-fine." Yuuna was stubborn as well. "I'll go with you." They stood up and walked to the horror house.

"_Being the coward that you are, you'll surely scream your heart out, and will want to go home after this. For sure." _She let out an evil laugh. It was like she became the wicked witch of the west, but it was because this was desperate attempt to make Yuuna give up. After this, she couldn't wait to go to Athrun and make it up to him for suddenly disappearing on him.

"Kira, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Athrun also was harboring an evil smile.

"I think I already know what you want to do." He found it silly, but he was also game to do this. He had to admit, he was having fun.

Inside the horror house, Athrun and Kira quickly searched for Yuuna and Cagalli. Even though they were customers, they think the management wouldn't mind if they had extra people to scare the people coming in.

They finally located Cagalli and the twit. With the dim lights, Athrun could see Yuuna clinging onto Cagalli like leech. It pissed him off more, but it was a good thing that Kira was there to snap him out of his violent thoughts and to remind him that they also had a plan. They ran ahead of them when the two of them were preoccupied. Yuuna was yet again letting out a loud cry, while Cagalli was busy pushing him away from her.

They both wondered how Yuuna could be so scared. They were just robotic Haros trying to scare them. Occasionally, there would be zombies and zombie Haros. But the sign outside the horror house indicated that children were also allowed to enter here. It meant that even children bear with these.

Kira and Athrun stopped in the place that they found convenient to scare Yuuna. There was actually a zombie that tried to scare Athrun, but the Justice pilot simply had no time for jokes and actually gave the zombie a death glare. It was a 'you're-getting-in-the-way-get-out-or-I'll-kill-yo u' kind of look.

The zombie in fact, got freaked out and stepped back allowing them to take his place in the horror house. Whoever these two guys were, he didn't want to disturb them, especially since the blue-haired one seemed so scary.

The kinder one approached him. "Sorry, but can you let us scare the approaching pair? This is for love!" He smiled at the zombie.

The zombie nodded. "Okay! For love! Do your best!" He went inside the curtains and went back to actually give Athrun and Kira petrifying masks that they could use. "Put these on, so you two wouldn't be noticed."

"Thank you." Athrun was really grateful to this zombie-man. The zombie returned to the curtains and disappeared from their sight.

"I think they're almost here." Kira whispered to Athrun.

"Good." Athrun gave Kira a hairpin. "You know what to do."

He nodded as they tried to hide themselves from Cagalli and Yuuna's view.

"Cagalli…" They could hear the wimp cry out. "Are we almost at the exit?"

"I don't know… Although I wish this could be over soon." She muttered in displeasure. Her plan was backfiring. Instead of Yuuna finally releasing the handcuffs so that he can run for his life, he actually is attaching herself more to her than he usually does.

"Ready?" Kira whispered.

"Yeah." He answered. Hell he was ready than ever before!

"Go!"

After the 'go' signal, they both appeared from where they were hiding and pretended to assault Cagalli and Yuuna. Yuuna yelped in horror and made a run for it. Cagalli of course, had no choice but to also run or else she would be dragged to the floor while the lunatic cowardly ran off. Athrun didn't allow him to continue on pulling Cagalli with him wherever he wishes to go like she was his pet, so he threw himself and got a hold of his foot.

"You bastard." Athrun clenched his teeth his anger. He finally got to hold Yuuna, but never did he imagine it to be in this kind of situation. "You're not going to break free as long as I'm holding your foot."

"Hey! Let go!" Yuuna tried to wriggle free like a maniac. Whoever was holding his foot, had a death grip on it. "Are you even allowed to touch the customers?"

Yuuna was about to kick Athrun's face with his free foot. "Not in your lifetime." Athrun murmured and managed to make him fall to the floor. Now he got hold of both of his feet.

"Now!" He signaled to Kira.

Kira could see in the dim light what was happening. Athrun was lying on the floor while holding Yuuna down with his whole strength. The weakling was also face down on the floor, but was desperately trying to break free, and he looked like he was about to cry. Cagalli, on the other hand, just sat on top of Yuuna and had no idea on what was going on.

He wanted to laugh at what he was seeing but he could do that later, after Cagalli was set free. He quickly rushed to the where the handcuffs were and tried to insert the hairpin to set her free.

But, even though he was the ultimate coordinator, there were some things that he couldn't do. Like tinkering with the handcuffs that he couldn't even see clearly. Now he wondered why Athrun didn't volunteer to do this instead of him. He was better at this anyway. Maybe he really wanted to get back at Yuuna even in this way.

With Kira being unable to set the handcuffs free and other people coming their way, the two pilots had to let them go. They hid behind the curtains and that was Yuuna's moment to get up and make a run for it.

"Sorry about that Athrun." Kira tried to laugh it off, but his best friend wasn't in the mood for any jokes. Their plan was a failure. He also didn't like the aura that surrounded Athrun. It was a dark and murderous one.

"I'm also terribly sorry that you were unable to win your duel of love with that other guy." The zombie-man reappeared and started to scare the people proceeding towards them.

"Don't worry Athrun. We'll think of another plan." He tried to reassure Athrun, who was apparently losing hope.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The third part

-o0o-

Athrun and Kira continued to pursue their target and stayed hidden. There was no way that they would be giving up. Athrun at first was starting to lose hope that they would ever succeed in helping Cagalli escape because so far, all their plans were not working. It was a good thing that Kira was there to encourage him that they'll eventually find a way and be victorious.

"Honey, let's eat." They heard Yuuna speak. "I'm hungry." They were still of course, stalking them from afar.

"Stop calling me 'honey'! Especially in public!" Cagalli shouted at him. She found it really gross that he kept on calling her that. Athrun's pet name, 'Princess', was much better. But even if Yuuna called her 'Princess', she would also think that it was gross. Although it would be tolerable on the other hand if Athrun were to call her 'honey'.

"Why not, my honey?" Yuuna knew that it was annoying her, but said it anyway, for emphasis that she was his honey.

"I am not your honey." She turned away so she didn't have to look at his irritating face.

He smirked, knowing that even if she didn't want to be here, she couldn't do anything. "Well whatever, I'm hungry. Let's go." He stood up and walked to the nearest restaurant. Since Cagalli was cuffed with him, she had no choice but to walk with him.

When they entered the restaurant, Athrun got infuriated all the more when he saw Cagalli and Yuuna sitting together on one couch. He was really tempted to chop the handcuffs off just so this could be over. If only he could do that right away, he would. But that would create a ruckus and people would realize that it was Cagalli and everything would be wild.

He had to calm down. Breathe. He will rescue Cagalli.

Kira pointed to the couch and table in front of them. Since the seats were tall couches that faced each other, Yuuna and Cagalli wouldn't be able to see them because the couches would block their view. Athrun sat in the couch that would enable him to peer to Cagalli's table from time to time. Kira took the seat that was across him.

"I want to report those two that assaulted us in the horror house." Yuuna declared while he looked at the menu. "How dare they even do that to me?"

"What do you mean?" She wasn't interested in hearing it, but she said it anyway.

"They were scaring us like crazy! I better report them!" Yuuna was trying to convince her that he was right. "I fell to the ground because they were touching my foot."

"Well so how will you report to the management? Will you introduce yourself as Yuuna Roma Seiran, one of the emirs of Orb, and tell them that some random mascots scared your ass off because they were simply doing their job?" She sarcastically gave her remark. "Let's see how they'll react to that."

Yuuna shut his mouth after that. She was right. He would just appear like a scaredy-cat and would become a laughing stock. He couldn't afford his image to be spoiled just because of a horror house incident.

"May I take your orders?" A waitress approached the two of them.

"I'd like this burger meal and fries as the side dish." Yuuna pointed to something at the menu. "Also a chocolate milkshake."

"What about you miss?" The waitress was talking to Cagalli who wasn't even looking at the menu.

"I'm not ordering anything." She told the waitress and looked at the window. If she was even hungry, she must have lost her appetite. Who wouldn't? Forced to spend a day with someone she couldn't even stomach was enough to make her lose her hunger.

"What are you saying my honey?" Yuuna acted like he was a concerned boyfriend that Kira had to control Athrun from creating a scene. "You have to eat! The last meal we had was during the brunch with my parents."

"But I really don't want to eat anything." Her decision was final. "I just want to go home."

"She's having a parfait!" He told the waitress even without her consent. The waitress scurried off to get their orders ready before Cagalli could even tell her to cancel that.

"Didn't I tell you that I didn't want anything?" She gritted her teeth and wanted to punch this pretentious guy. Aside from being plain annoying and conceited, he just likes to force people to do what he wants.

"Nonsense honey!" Yuuna insisted. "We still have a lot of things to do here at the amusement park! We still have to go to the lover's tunnel, ferris wheel and all those fun and romantic rides couples go to!"

Lover's tunnel? Ferris wheel?

That was the last straw for Athrun.

There was no way in the hell he was letting Yuuna spend one more hour with his Cagalli. He was supposed to be the one spending with this special day with Cagalli, not that jerk! Yuuna wasn't playing fair, as always.

He could also play dirty.

"Athrun… Are you alright?" Kira asked his best friend who was immersed in his negative thoughts. He wasn't in a good mood after the horror house incident. Now, he doesn't seem to be in any better shape. He couldn't blame him really. After all, Athrun was really looking forward to going to this amusement park since the two of them were always so busy. Before the second bloody valentine war, Athrun was her bodyguard, so they always were with each other.

Now it was different. Athrun was an admiral now, not Alex Dino. When Kira called Cagalli occasionally to ask her what she and Athrun were up to, she always told him that they rarely get to meet and have dinner because they had things that they needed to do.

"Kira…" Athrun paused for a moment. He really was determined to separate Yuuna and Cagalli, even if it means playing dirty.

"What?" Kira didn't like the tone of his voice. It was like he was making an evil scheme in his head.

"You're not going to like what I'm about to do…"

"What are you going to do?"

"Switch seats with me."

"What why?"

"Just switch." Athrun told him, not wanting to explain to him his plan. Kira had no choice but to stand up from his seat and exchange with his best friend. He couldn't talk Athrun out of his jaundiced state of mind.

"What are you planning really?" Kira asked him again when he finally sat on the seat that had the view of a resentful Cagalli and the perverted Yuuna.

"Just watch." Athrun was smirking. "They have no choice but to separate, for sure." He emphasized the last two words that he said.

Kira had no idea what he was about to do, but he was sure, it would be something that was unlike how they usually carry out their plans. Whatever it was, he was getting nervous already.

The waitress that served Cagalli's table was coming back with their orders. Kira was observing Athrun, who seemed to still be giving the smug look. But he still had no idea what he was planning.

He then saw Athrun looking sorry for the waitress that passed them; he then realized what he was about to do.

"Don't do it!" Kira tried to change Athrun's mind but it was too late, he already put his foot in the way of the waitress as she passed them, causing her to trip. All the contents of her tray fell on the person that angered the three of them.

"Just as planned." Athrun beamed in victory.

"Damn it!" They heard Yuuna curse out loud. "How stupid are you?" He was referring to the waitress. "How dare you spill all of these on me?"

"Stop it already!" Cagalli was trying to make Yuuna stop making a scene in the restaurant.

"I'm sorry!" The waitress was horrified about what happened. "I truly am very sorry! I didn't mean to do that." Athrun, even though his plan worked, felt sorry for the waitress. He knew it wasn't nice to do that, but he did anyway.

"Will your stupid apology make everything better? Do you even know how much this outfit costs? Damn it!" Yuuna continued on, stood up to continue to ridicule the waitress.

"I told you to stop it!" Cagalli whacked Yuuna on the head and stormed out of the restaurant, now she was the one dragging Yuuna with her. She didn't want to be here any longer.

"Uhm…" Athrun stood up and spoke to the waitress who was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, it was my fault. You tripped because of me." He sincerely apologized to her. Although he did not feel any remorse about what happened to Yuuna, this waitress did not do anything wrong. She even might lose her job and he couldn't take that.

The waitress shook her head, taking responsibility for what happened. "No sir, it was because I was too careless." Athrun was feeling guiltier than ever. Maybe he went to far perhaps?

"Here." Athrun handed her a few bills. "I'll pay for what the customers ordered but didn't get to pay. You can keep the change." He went to talk with the manager who seemed to be giving the innocent waitress a glare to explain everything that happened.

"That wasn't very nice." Kira scolded him went they were finally outside and settled what happened inside the restaurant. He knew that Athrun wanted to separate Yuuna with Cagalli, but he was going to far. They never used dirty tactics like that. They didn't roll that way. "By what you did, you stooped down to the level of that Yuuna."

"I know." Athrun felt like Kira was reprimanding him like he was his parent. But he sure would be mad, since it was against their principles. He was even branded a gentleman because he didn't try to kill Cagalli when they first met and here she was tripping a lady that had nothing to do with any of their disputes. "I'm sorry."

"It's a good thing that the manager was understanding, or else…"

"It's not going to happen again." Athrun apologized yet again. Maybe he deserved this scolding from him.

Kira first stopped in acting like a very strict parent. "Wait, a minute. Cagalli and Yuuna!" He pointed to one of the restrooms near the restaurant, they appeared to be arguing.

They went near them and hid themselves in the trees nearby.

"You should probably let go of the cuffs first so you can go and change your clothes clothes." Cagalli suggested. They managed to buy a "Haro Land" T-shirt at the souvenir shop. Even though Yuuna complained that it wasn't fashion-forward, it was better that his top that was splattered with milkshake and parfait. It seemed like a blessing in disguise for this to happen. He would have to remove it now or else he would stay sticky with the clothes.

Yuuna thought about it first, but still didn't want to give in. He knew that it was the moment that Cagalli was waiting for. "You should probably go inside with me while I change."

Cagalli gaped in disbelief. Until now, he didn't want to give up. "Are you kidding me? I don't want to go inside the men's bathroom!" This was too much! Yuuna was really treating her like she was his personal assistant, worse, and a slave. But she will not let Yuuna have his way yet again.

"But Cagalli, I told you, I don't want to be away from you." Yuuna pleaded here to concede to him, but it appeared that she wasn't going to change her mind.

"Then change inside the ladies bathroom." She proposed. At least it would be him that would face another humiliation.

"No way!" Yuuna shook his head wildly. "There's no way I'm entering the ladies bathroom! That's too embarrassing."

"Then I feel the same way, you cannot make me enter the men's bathroom." She countered back.

"Please Cagalli?" He tried to act cute, but it had no effect on her.

"No."

"Pleeeeaseee?"

"Not happening."

"Come on!"

"No."

"Please, please please?"

"Over my dead body." She gave him a death glare. If he really insisted on making her enter the bathroom, she would definitely make a scene.

Yuuna was getting pissed off. Cagalli was being such a spoiled brat. She didn't even bother to try and cooperate with him and make this day memorable for them, in a positive way. He was making an effort so that Cagalli would enjoy the day with him, but she didn't seem to care at all. She could have at least pretended to be happy, but all she had given him was the cold shoulder.

He guessed that it was because she wanted to have a date with that Zala! So what if that worthless Athrun Zala was her boyfriend? He was officially her fiancé! Their parents mutually decided it when they were still kids. She would have to break up with him eventually in the future because she was bound to marry him, the one and only Yuuna Roma Seiran.

"Well you're not really going with me to the bathroom?" Yuuna's voice changed to a serious tone.

"No." Cagalli's was firm and refused to give in.

"Okay then." Yuuna got the key out of his pocket. Cagalli's heart skipped a beat. He was finally going to release her. Athrun and Kira gulped nervously as well. This was the moment that they've all been waiting for.

He walked to the side and was releasing the lock on his right hand. But what surprised the three of them was that he was cuffed Cagalli to one of the posts outside the restrooms.

"Yuuna! Just what are you doing?! Release me immediately!" Cagalli couldn't believe this! He was treating her like she was his slave! This was worse than having to follow him wherever he pleased!

"Fine. I won't make you go with me to the bathroom. But that doesn't mean I'll set you free!" He snorted. Athrun wanted to charge at Yuuna already, but was restrained by Kira.

"Stop that Athrun!" Kira was keeping him out of sight. "This is our opening! Just wait for him to leave! And put your mask on!"

"Damn you! Just what do you think am I? Your pet?" Cagalli continued to shout at him and tried to set herself free by pulling the handcuffs but it was no use. "Stop this idiocy!"

"Nope. But until you get to accept that I'm the only one you should be with, I'm not letting you go." He snickered and finally went inside the comfort room.

"Hey! Don't just leave me here!" Cagalli was screaming out to him, but he just ignored him. After a few seconds and he wasn't coming out, she really was convinced that he was a very conceited bastard and that she needed to break off that stupid engagement. She would really like to beat him up.

She sighed in defeat. There were no people in this area so no matter how she shouted, no one noticed her. She heard that there was a parade of Haros in the main road so most of the people would be there. Now, how would she get help?

This just had to be her worst birthday ever. She didn't even get to see Athrun, plus she was spending it with Yuuna who treated her like a dog. If she knew that it would turn out like this, she would have gone to work instead. At least while she worked, she knew that she was doing something for the country.

She wondered if she would even get the chance to see him today. Maybe if she slept at his house, or if he slept at hers like he suggested, they could have thought of an excuse or a way to escape Yuuna. Maybe this wouldn't happen. What if the purple-haired mongrel decided that they would have dinner until this day was officially over? She didn't know how she could survive. How very unhappy she felt at this moment.

"_It's my fault."_ She thought to herself. If only she was brave enough to brush Yuuna away on her own. There were really times that she felt like he was somehow brainwashing her to follow what he wants. If only she was stronger…

Athrun… Her mind wandered to think about her boyfriend. What was he doing right now? If only he was here.

How she wanted to see him. How she wanted to hear his voice.

"Cagalli!" It was like her prayers were answered. She heard the voice that she'd been longing to hear all day. Was it just her imagination?

Suddenly, the guy with the yellow Haro mask from the bump cars was standing in front of her. He was using a hairpin to unlock the handcuffs. "Hang in there, Cagalli…"

It wasn't her imagination! It was really him! "Athrun…" Overjoyed was just an underestimation of how she felt seeing him stand in front of her. She inwardly thanked Haumea for answering her prayers so quickly.

"Wait, this is hard…" She heard him whisper.

It seemed like he was having a hard time undoing it so much that Yuuna could be seen exiting the bathroom. Cagalli was panicking about what could possibly take place if they were here, face to face.

"Hey you two!" Yuuna finally noticed two guys that were close to where he locked Cagalli. "What do you think you're doing with my honey?"

"Pink-chan!" Athrun called to Kira for help. He quickly responded to by getting the hairpin from him and rushing to the birthday girl's side. Cagalli took a good look at this 'Pink-chan' and realized that he was talking about Kira. So these two were the ones from the bump car ride!

"I got this Mr. Yellow." Kira was now the one that was trying to free Cagalli from the handcuffs. Athrun immediately got to the front and blocked Yuuna from reaching Kira and Cagalli. This was a duel between the two of them.

"Just who are you two?" Yuuna was getting cocky and was readying his fist to punch the guys with the masks. "Trying to get close with my Cagalli-chan huh?"

Yuuna tried to rush to where Cagalli was when he saw that the other guy was trying to unlock the cuffs. "Hey what are you doing?" But the guy with the yellow mask prevented him from coming any closer.

"Damn it." He was getting frustrated. Who did these two think they were? He tried to hit him the first time, but felt like a fool when the guy with yellow mask dodged it like he was expecting him to do that. Another attempt to punch and kick him, but the guy was evading his every attack perfectly.

"Pink-chan, hurry up!" Athrun was shouting to Kira now, who was still in the process of unlocking the cuffs. As he was doing that, Yuuna was trying to hit him while he wasn't looking, but it was no use. Athrun was skilled in combat, so he kept on dodging his attacks. Yuuna was getting infuriated that he was looking like a complete idiot in front of his Cagalli. Even though he tried his best and put his strength in every move, he just couldn't lay even his finger on his enemy.

From that angle, Cagalli couldn't help but feel sorry for Yuuna's pride. It must have plummeted to a very low level after this. But at the same time, control the urge to laugh hard at what she was seeing. He just looked like a klutz trying to fight a professional, a motorcycle trying to pick a fight the Justice Gundam… The analogy was extreme, but that was how she saw it.

"Done! Mr. Yellow!" Kira finally manage to unlock the handcuffs. Cagalli was glad that the metal ring that stuck on her hand for the day was now removed. It led Yuuna running to her in a panic outrage. "You bastards!" With the handcuffs gone, Cagalli would be free to escape whenever she pleased.

Yuuna didn't even try to attack Athrun now. Instead, he went straight to the twins to throw herself at Cagalli. Kira and Cagalli, inexperienced with actual battle combat; both panicked and just hugged each other.

It was really a good thing that Athrun was. He caught up to Yuuna and managed to get in front of him yet again.

Whatever he was about to do was just an act of self-defense. He made a mental disclaimer.

"My honeeyyyy!"

"Oh no you don't!"

POOOWW!

Athrun gave the bastard a strong punch in the face that sent Yuuna flying to the bushes. Cagalli and Kira's jaws dropped wide open when they saw Seiran flying like a boomerang. The sound of the impact was really intense; it was like a humongous rock fell on his face. It was an amazing level of power in that one blow. It felt like all of Athrun's repressed emotions with regards to Yuuna were in that blow.

Kira walked over to where Yuuna was and checked his pulse. He was still alive, which was a relief. He was sure that the punch could have killed him "Seven… Eight… Nine… Ten… He's out!" He even was counting to see whether Yuuna would wake up. But Athrun hit him pretty hard so…

Cagalli was certain that she could hear the boxing bells ring. Yuuna was knocked out by that single punch from Athrun. That didn't surprise her. Knowing that Yuuna was a wimp anyway. What shocked her was that Athrun actually punched him. He was always reserved even if he wasn't happy about things with her and Yuuna. Maybe Yuuna pushed him to his limit this time.

She was still looking at the unconscious Yuuna at the floor that she was unable to notice that Athrun went to her. "Are you alright Cagalli?" Athrun asked her while removing his mask. He looked dreamy as ever and suddenly, all of the pessimism that she had today surprisingly disappeared. Worst birthday ever? Scratch that. She couldn't express how happy she was that he was standing there right in front of him. Athrun was already with her. That was all that matters.

She nodded. "I'm okay." Her voice was somehow shivering. It was weird, she suddenly felt like she was about to tear up because of joy.

Athrun then surprised her by enclosing her into a tight hug, like her life was threatened and was held hostage for days. "That's good to hear. I was really worried about you." Or maybe because he just got clingy towards her because they really haven't seen each other for days, then the next thing he knew, Yuuna ruined their date. So he was really looking forward to holding her all this time.

Cagalli returned the hug in no time and buried her face in his chest. This felt so nice. It had been ages since they have been able to hug each other like this. "Sorry." She said in a muffled tone.

They both wished this moment could last forever.

Kira cleared his throat to destroy the lovey-dovey mood that was surrounding the both of them. Athrun and Cagalli quickly let go of each other, blushing because they were too embarrassed that Kira had to call their attention. Clearly these two forgot that he was also here. These two were acting as if he wasn't there, or the romantic atmosphere just took over when they saw each other eye to eye. He wasn't sorry that he had to break this up.

Although when he thought about it now, there were times that Cagalli told him that she was feeling like a third wheel when he and Lacus also were being all affectionate with each other back in the Archangel. So this is how it felt to be ignored, but he didn't like the feeling.

He gave them both a knowing look. The couple still couldn't look at him in the eye because they were still flustered. "I called for help to take care of him." He then pointed towards Yuuna who was still lying on the ground.

"I-I see." Athrun was the first to respond, seeing that Cagalli still was too embarrassed. "Thanks."

"We better get going!" Kira told the both of them when he saw medic coming to where Yuuna was. "I still want to try some of the rides."

They both nodded and walked away from the crime scene.

-o0o-

"So how does it feel that a Haro Land was created in tribute to your robotic creations?" Kira asked Athrun. The three of them were eating in a fast food restaurant inside Haro Land. In truth, Cagalli was pretty hungry because she wasn't able to eat much during the brunch she had in the Seiran family and she pretty much didn't want to eat with Yuuna.

"I don't know. Flattered I guess." Athrun answered him, while taking two pieces of fries from Cagalli's meal and putting it into his mouth.

"I think the people who conceptualized this amusement park had no idea that Athrun was the one that created Lacus' Haros." Cagalli added. "It's a pity Athrun! You could have gotten stinking rich if you put a trademark on the Haros."

"But I don't really need the money." Athrun told them. "Besides, the company has been making use of half of its profit to fund charitable institutions so I don't think me giving the money if they decided to pay me for that makes any difference."

"You're right." Cagalli shrugged and continued eating. "So where do you guys want to ride next?"

"This one." Kira pointed to one of the rides in the map. "I saw this one a while ago. You just ride on the Haro then it bounces and bounces. It sure is nice to send Lacus a picture of this one."

"That reminds me, where is Lacus?" Cagalli asked him.

"Oh she's pre-ahhh!" His best friend kicked Kira in the shin before he divulged more details. Athrun pretended to be eating all along, while Kira was withering in pain.

"Kira, what's wrong?" Cagalli seemed to notice that Kira wasn't being himself at all.

"I think he's hungry! Here!" Athrun popped a number of fries into his mouth before Cagalli could even suspect what was wrong. "Aren't you Kira?"

He nodded, giving Athrun a vicious look. That hurt! Way to treat him on his birthday!

"You're weird Kira." Cagalli laughed and was still clueless of the hidden message that Kira and Athrun were relaying each other.

"Anyway…" Kira continued to talk after he swallowed what Athrun forcefully shoved in his mouth. "Lacus still had a few things to finish back in PLANT so she told me to go ahead. She'll probably be here by dinnertime."

"Can't wait to see her! The last time I saw her was during her birthday, which is like three months ago." Before, Lacus lived in the orphanage with Reverend Malchio in Orb so they got to see each other often, but things have changed now that she was a part of the PLANTs council.

"Yup! You'll get to see her later." Kira nodded, Athrun smiled as well. At least their secret was safe for now.

-o0o-


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Part 4! Last one.

-o0o-

Left with less than two hours to enjoy the amusement park, the three of them decided to try some of the other rides before they went to Cagalli's surprise dinner party. The lines were shorter now so they could more or less ride three before heading home.

"Let's ride that!" Kira suggested, pointing another extreme ride that they just passed by.

Cagalli nodded. "We should totally do!" She was now enthusiastic unlike before. She was with the people she wanted to spend this day with.

"Wha-" Athrun was surprised that the two of them were agreeing on it already. He thought that they could finally ride the tunnel of love, but I guess that could be the next one that they could try.

As for the second ride, it was still Kira that was deciding what they should do, and Cagalli consequently agreed with him. Athrun had no choice but to do what the twins wished.

Although Athrun was very happy that Cagalli was free from that Yuuna bastard, he couldn't completely be happy. For the past two rides, Kira refused to be alone while the two of them went to the rides, so he was fine to be a third-wheel and followed them whenever they went. It was fine by Kira, but for him it wasn't. The reason why they followed Cagalli to the amusement park was because their goal was that Athrun gets to spend this day with her, no matter how many hours were left.

Kira was really killing him right now. He thought his best friend would understand what he felt and wanted right now. Either he had no idea of how he felt or he was really doing it on purpose. Selfish as it may sound, but he wanted to have some time alone with Cagalli but Kira didn't really want to leave the two of them. He sighed; it looks like he'll have to wait next year.

"Are you okay?" Cagalli asked his boyfriend, noticing that he breathed out expressing a hint of disappointment.

"I'm okay." He smiled half-heartedly to reassure her that it was nothing, even if he was really not okay.

"What's the matter Athrun?" It was now Kira's turn to ask him, not believing his response. He wanted to smack Kira on the head, as if it wasn't obvious already why he was acting that way.

"It's nothing, really." He insisted. Although he wished that Kira would get the message. They had time for only one ride and it was obvious that they wouldn't be riding the tunnel of love anymore.

"Okay then. Let's ride the anchor's away!" Kira shrugged it off; unable to comprehend what Athrun really was trying to say. Athrun now wondered whether Kira was really his best friend. Weren't best friends supposed to be able to read each other's minds?

"Kira can I choose where we ride next?" Cagalli complained. Kira had been deciding where they should and should not ride already. Hey, it was her birthday too.

"Fine…" Kira gave it up and let Cagalli decide.

"I want to ride the Ferris wheel." She told both of them. "This is the reason why I wanted to go here at Haro Land."

"Okay then!" Kira agreed.

"Athrun, do you want to ride? Or you'd rather wait for us down here?" Cagalli turned to him, noticing that he remained quiet. He might be tired already from following her and Yuuna the whole day.

"I'll ride with you…" He said to them in a very muffled voice. There was no way that he would let even a few minutes pass that he wasn't by Cagalli's side. Even if it means that Kira had to be there too.

He saw that Cagalli's eyes were beaming with happiness so he couldn't just say no to her.

-o0o-

The three of them were in line, waiting for their turn to get on the Ferris wheel. "Hey look at that…" Kira told them. "It looks like four people can fit inside one cab! I thought I'd be separated from you two once we ride the Ferris wheel."

Athrun wanted to roll his eyes and punch Kira so that he'd be able to regain his senses. He wanted to be separated from him! With him here, he couldn't do anything lovey-dovey with Cagalli. He couldn't put his arms on his waist on his shoulders because Kira would pry them off, saying that he felt very uncomfortable when they singled him out. When they wanted to hold hands, Kira would come in between them and hold their hands. It was really so annoying that he wanted to strangle Kira the moment that Cagalli wasn't keeping an eye on them.

But rewinding what Kira just said, he had an idea. He would have this alone time with Cagalli, no matter what.

"Hello sirs and maam!" The Ferris wheel crew greeted the three of them when it was their turn to ride one of the cabs.

"Hello." Cagalli greeted him in a very unnatural high-pitched voice, being careful not to reveal her identity. Kira smiled as well. Athrun was smiling too, but it wasn't because he was trying to be nice to the crewman of the amusement park.

The crew opened the Ferris wheel cab and Cagalli went inside. Kira was about to go in when Athrun tapped him on the back.

"What is it?" Kira asked him.

"I think I saw Lacus here at the park. She just passed by this ride and she might be looking for us…" Pointing at the direction of where the carousel was, he whispered to him and saw Kira's expression change into a worried one. It was good to know that his plan was working on him easily than he expected it to be. "The bad thing is, there are a bunch of men following her trying to hit on her."

That was good enough to send him out to look for her.

Of course, that was a lie.

"What?" Kira's eyes were wide open with what Athrun just said to him. He panicked and walked a bit farther from the ride to see if Lacus was really there. He would really get mad if there were really men that were trying to harass her. Unlike Cagalli, Lacus didn't know how to defend herself during these times. Why didn't she bring any companion with her?

Kira walked briskly to where his best friend pointed at, looking from one direction to another and was careful not to miss a sight of a pink-haired woman. Athrun took this chance to get past him and enter the cab and asked the crewman to close the door.

Cagalli was starting to wonder where Kira went off to and why he didn't ride with them, but in no time, her brother was running back to them, shouting. "Athrun! I can't see her. Where did you say she went?" He then stopped in surprise as Athrun and Cagalli's cab was already moving upwards without him.

"Hey!" He was trying his best to catch their attention, and then he heard his phone beep.

Must be Lacus!

Reaching the insides of the pocket of his jeans, he managed to get hold of his cell phone and pulled it out. It wasn't a text message from Lacus, but from Athrun.

"_What I said was a lie. Sorry about that. Just wanted to have some time alone with Cagalli."_ It read.

He groaned in defeat and put his phone back in his pocket. "That Athrun! Why didn't he just say so?"

The crew called out to him, remembering that he was also in line a while ago. "Sir, are you still going for a ride?"

"Oh," He snapped out of his thoughts and decided that he might as well ride the Ferris wheel cabin before going home. "Sure, sure."

-o0o-

"Athrun, what just happened?" Cagalli asked Athrun when he saw that his brother clearly wasn't aware that they left him behind. "What were you whispering to him before you got inside? Why did he run off when we were about to get inside? Whom was Kira referring to when he said 'she'?" She asked him a lot of questions because it seemed like he wasn't going to tell her anything if she didn't ask.

So it was time to tell her what he did. "I told him that Lacus was here in the park and was being hit on by a bunch of guys, which got him in a frenzy to search for her."

"And did he find Lacus?"

"Nope. He wouldn't find Lacus here. She's not even here..."

"Huh? I don't understand what you're trying to say." Cagalli was confused about what was happening. Athrun was really acting strange after they got outside the restaurant.

"I lied to him." He finally said. Cagalli would definitely get mad at him now.

"What? Why did you do that?" She couldn't believe what she just heard. It was unusual enough that Athrun was doing pranks on Yuuna, but that was kind of understandable. But playing jokes on Kira? She didn't understand what got into him to act that way.

He inhaled deeply before answering. "It's because…"

"Because?" Cagalli wasn't able to concentrate on the view outside the Ferris wheel cab because she was waiting for his answer.

"It's because I was looking forward to spending the day with you, but then that bastard Yuuna shows up at your house and kidnaps you! Even when I wanted to take you away from him immediately, I couldn't because your hands were cuffed to each other. Now that we've managed to set you free, Kira keeps on following us everywhere we go. That's I had to lie to him!" All the words came out from his mouth quickly,

"Ohh…" Cagalli was taken by surprise by what he said; she never knew that he felt that way. She thought that everything was okay with him.

"I lied to him just so I could spend just a few minutes alone with you." He admitted, getting a hold of Cagalli's hands and squeezing it lightly. The expression on his mesmerizing emerald eyes was very sincere and warm that she didn't even doubt him even just one bit. "It was a desperate move I know. Sorry." He said in a very inaudible voice.

So that was what he did. He turned away, trying to distract himself with the view of the amusement park and Orb below him. Cagalli just continued to look at him in a mischievous manner. She even saw him blushing! Must have taken him guts to admit that to her, like when he had given her the ring before he left for PLANT. Athrun rarely spoke of his feelings, and that was why he was like that whenever he had to do so.

After a few minutes, Athrun was still very quiet. Cagalli thought that it was okay at first, but then she realized that his effort to lie to Kira would go to waste if he continued on like that. In four more rounds of the Ferris wheel cycle, they would be getting down.

"Athrun…" She called out to him.

"What is it?" He turned to her direction, but was still too shy to look her in the eye.

"Won't you even talk to me?" Cagalli was frowning. "You should have just let Kira come with us if I knew that you would be this silent."

He still wasn't talking, but she was sure that he was trying his best to think of what to say next by the way he was frantically acting, as if he was a shy high school boy that just confessed to the girl he liked.

"That's too bad…" She sighed heavily. "I thought we would be able to enjoy this nice view…"

He realized what he had to do and smiled. He moved to the seat next to her and remained quiet as ever.

Cagalli continued talking. "Oh well, I guess-"

She wasn't able to continue what she was saying because she felt that Athrun pulling her close to him. Warmth was suddenly around her body; his arms wrapped around her body and hugged her tight.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked him even if it was already obvious. It was now Cagalli's turn to be stuttering and blushing.

"Holding you close to me." He told her in a matter-of-fact tone. Athrun didn't know what else to say to her so even though he remained silent; at least Cagalli was in his arms.

Her face reddened further when she heard him utter those words softly into her ear. "I know that…" Cagalli's face was still tinted with the shade of red, as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

He always did that, hugging her unexpectedly. She couldn't count the number of times he always did that to her, but it really surprised her every single time. Not that she complained or anything about his hugs always being spontaneous. Rather, she liked it. She could easily feel how he longed for her in his every hug.

They stayed like that for a brief moment, and then faced each other. Athrun gave her a kiss on the forehead before letting her be distracted by the view outside.

"You know what…" Cagalli started to speak again.

"Yes?"

"I think it was a good strategy, you trying to trick Kira that Lacus was here." She said. "In truth, I was also hoping that Kira would leave us alone. Seriously. This was supposed to be our date…"

It was a relief that she also shared the same sentiment. He thought that it was only him that felt the need for the two of them to have some 'alone time'. If she didn't think that way, he was planning to re-examine himself as Cagalli's boyfriend. Maybe he was getting extremely clingy or needy? If he was, then he certainly needed to change before it causes their relationship trouble.

"I know." He chuckled. "I asked him to help me in finding you so that we would still be able to spend time with each other. But I guess he thought that separating you from Yuuna was my only goal."

"Kira is sometimes so clueless!" Cagalli laughed as well, but then her mood suddenly changed. "Hey, were you disappointed that everything didn't go as we planned it would?"

"I admit, I was a little disappointed." He told her. "But still, we managed to get you out of Yuuna's grasp, we ate and went to some cool rides. I'm very contented even with just that."

"Plus, we'll have dinner with Kira and Lacus again later, won't we?" She added.

He nodded, careful not to spill about the birthday dinner surprise party. "And we'll just find a way to escape Yuuna next year."

"About that…" She intertwined her hands with his. "I was thinking about taking back what he said to the public."

"What?" Coordinators indeed have enhanced traits, including their sense of hearing, but he wasn't sure that he was hearing her right.

"I said I was thinking of officially breaking our engagement. The parliament already knows that the two of us are only 'engaged' because of the announcement that he did after the second war." With her other hand, she was fiddling with her phone, pressing random keys while she talked.

"But what about the public?" Although Athrun was glad that the topic of finally breaking the engagement with the bastard now crossed Cagalli's mind, he still was worried about the consequences, about how it would affect her. Surely the public would want an explanation of her decision. Would she tell the public that she is actually dating the son of the deceased Patrick Zala? That sure would be problematic to handle.

Another thing, even though he hated to admit it, the public also was cheering on for Cagalli and Seiran. So many people came during their supposed wedding to show their love and support for the pair. Many people see them as an ideal couple, a prince and a princess. What would happen then?

"Well, I know. I have to deal with them too. I'd tell them that Mr. Seiran and me don't share that special connection perhaps? Or our ideals are different? Or I don't really need a husband because I'm really the heir to the throne? Or be just plain honest that I'm actually love Athrun Zala and not him, I guess."

"That would be very sweet of you, announcing your feelings for me on national television." He snaked his arm into her waist and pulled her closer. "But I don't think that would be a good idea…"

She leaned her head on his shoulders and answer. "Yeah, you're right. That might not be a good idea. I can consult with the parliament about what I should tell the public. But I'm really serious about it this time, you know. Yuuna really has been pulling my strings."

He laughed again. "I know…"

"Besides, I wouldn't want to be engaged with a person that ordered the fleet to shoot me and my mobile suit down, made a treaty with the Alliance, banned me from seeing my boyfriend and brother, forced me to marry him, demanded me to have longer hair…" She sat up straight, removing her hand from Athrun's and paused before speaking in a louder voice. "PLUS, he kidnapped me on the day we were supposed to have our date and what's worse, freaking hand-cuffed me to a pole! Can you believe that? That's why I don't want to be engaged with him, even if it's just a lie to arouse the public's interest." Her hands were balled into fists, wanting to punch Yuuna too when she ever saw him again today. He really got her temper rising, just thinking about it.

"Calm down, princess." Athrun grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it, which sent her grasping for words yet again. "We can talk about this some other time, okay?"

She nodded. "Fine, sorry…" Her outburst was embarrassing. She was really angry with Yuuna though. It couldn't be helped.

"It's okay!" He reassured her. "I would be really mad too if someone also handcuffed me to a pole."

"By the way…" She had been meaning to ask this since they got on the Ferris wheel.

"What is it?"

"Do you…"

"Do I?"

"Do you want to sleep over at my place tonight?" Cagalli was again fiddling with her phone. Athrun noticed that she was blushing again. "I mean, not like sleep over in my room. Kisaka, Mana and Kira wouldn't agree to that at all. You can sleep in the room that you always slept in when you spend the night at my house. Then we can have breakfast together before going to work. But of course if you can't, I understand! We're both really busy so I guess it can't be helped." She was blabbering so much because she was too shy.

"I'd love too." Athrun smiled at her. "I'd love to sleep over at your house." Of course, he most probably would be because of the surprise party. But he felt extra happy that Cagalli personally asked him to stay.

"Yay!" She put her hands up as if she just won a contest.

"Looks like our ride is coming to an end." Athrun peered down, seeing that the people who got in before them were already exiting the cabs one by one.

"Oh, you're right." She was a bit disappointed that the short ride had come to an end.

"But before it does." Athrun touched Cagalli's chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Athrun…" She was blushing again. Athrun had been surprising her way too many times today!

"Happy birthday Cagalli. I love you." She saw him close his eyes as his face neared hers and she closed her eyes as well. Moments later she felt Athrun's soft and warm lips on hers. It lingered for a few seconds but it was enough for them.

"I love you too, Athrun." She told him as she slowly opened her eyes to make contact with his dazzling emerald eyes.

"HEY! I SAW THAT! STOP THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION ALREADY!" Kira shouted to them. He was actually watching them all along, while being a loner in his own Ferris wheel cab. Both of them saw Kira in his overprotective brother mode and ran to escape from him as soon as they got off the cab. He couldn't wait to get off as well. Athrun was definitely going to get it later.

-o0o-

A/N: Done!


End file.
